


No Air

by theroaringseas



Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Eventual Romance, Half-Anodite Ben, Kevin as the wielder of the Omnitrix, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Teen Angst, Teenage Rebellion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-04-24 05:46:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14349186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theroaringseas/pseuds/theroaringseas
Summary: AU where Ben is half-Anodite and Kevin is the founder of Omnitrix. Still young, foolish, with a penchant for danger. Last time Ben saw Kevin, Kevin was a monstrousity thrown into the Null Void with Vilgax, cursing Ben's name in the fall.Five years later and Kevin saves his ass from a DNAlien and Ben still has the stirrings of a former crush. Beginning from the start of Alien Force.





	1. No Reservations

It was once in a full moon where Ben would reconsider Verdona's request.

And it wasn't long before the idea of leaving earth became less of a daunting idea and more like sweet relief the more he contemplated about it, like perhaps it's for the best that he leave with his alien grandma to train on her planet. The sooner the better. He _was_ half-Anodite, after all; it made sense. He'd be free from all the chaos, destruction, alien ambushes, and migraines he'd get from thinking too much about battle strategies.

Sleepless nights teaching himself how to bend his mana as flexible as Charmcaster, Sunny, or Verdonas' but hopeless because all it would do was blow up in his face. He sighed, thought himself as a pathetic excuse for a plumber.

Accepting Verdona's request was so logical in this case, and all his life he's been nothing but reasonable and calculating. But… there was only one tangible, irrational, infuriating being who kept him anchored. Before he knew it, Ben never realized how quietly he was pulled in and how this being attached onto his heartstrings despite knowing it would never work out. It had him spiraling back to earth in surges of spacecraft speed and light, and that something- _someone_ was Kevin.

However, lately, Kevin hasn't been himself and Ben had taken notice. He always took notice of Kevin’s mannerisms which prompted these unstable thoughts of his. Kevin was more gaudy, arrogant, prideful, and consumed with all the fame and fortune after his secrets been out. After a while, this indulgent nature became less cute and more vexing. More often than not, Ben would voice it to him of how his pretentious nature will kill them all. It was distracting. That only pissed Kevin off though.

He was so easy to bother if you pushed the right buttons. It's always been like that. Ever since that summer, he'd never hesitated the chance to push those buttons even if it meant life or death. He knew this wavering frustration when he first met Kevin at the age of ten, and he knew how detrimental it was to know him.

Kevin was, in essence, everything Ben wanted to be back then and so stark different. Kevin was unconfined fun, living, rules broken, badass, independent, and sometimes insanity all at once with not a care of circumstance in the world. The polar opposite of Ben at the time. Ben figured he was attracted to his sort of lifestyle for several reasons: because he was an only child, sheltered since forever by his parents with no siblings or friends to hang out with (besides Gwen who doesn't count because they were related). Even his grandpa kept a close watchful eye over him. It was suffocating and… lonesome. But, that summer road trip was fresh breath of air and life-changing; beginning with Kevin discovering the Omnitrix, and Ben eventually discovering his magic powers (or so he thought.) Fighting aliens, running away, playing sumo slammers from dusk til dawn, it used to be a joy to wake up and await what troubles would cross their way the next day.

When Ben suggested that Kevin should travel with him, Grandpa Max welcomed him. He had opened arms for Kevin in a way his father never could, and invited him in as though he were his own son. Gwen, _still stuck with one more dweeb_ , had liked (pitied) his presence and was glad for his technical skills for fixing the faucet every now and then. Nevertheless, Kevin wasn't a constant, he was reckless, unstill, and ready to leave the shabby, old trailer his Grandpa left doors open for him. There was also only one reason why he stayed around and Ben wished he didn't know that reason was because of Gwen. He was quite smitten with her back then, and... even now.

This made Ben roll his eyes to the back of his head at age ten and gag, fast-forward six years later and it gave his heart palpitations, exceedingly when Gwen didn't turn him down. It drained the color in his eyes, and suddenly he was stuck inbetween the confines of a black and white society again. He would resort to twiddling with plumber equipment and reading his magic spell book whenever they gave public displays of affections to each other. The intimacy between the two had him biting his bleeding tongue and his heart might've died right there had he not excused himself to the restroom. That van had no air in it and he never speculated how much this would affect him. Fortunately, no one was able to tell and they never would- he preferred it that way, because at least if Kevin never saw him in that way, he would still be close to him as friends. Mortified, if anything changed between them and created distance.

Then, came the endless nightmares in nostalgic waves of that legarthic summer. Not in the beginning or halfway through, but the end. The horror plastered on his face when Kevin lost control and tried to kill him and hunted him down like it was his fault he found the Omnitrix in the first place. The same Omnitrix was unable to be removed from Kevin’s skin. Vilgax wanted to kill him, Ben wanted to save him in futile attempts. He remembers the lost kick to his stomach when he'd heard that Kevin had been locked up in the Null Void.

However, when it came down to it, there was nothing he could do. He had cried his eyes out in front of Grandpa Max to save him, cure him, because he wasn't a bad person within. He was just under bad circumstances. When Grandpa Max said to firmly, no, nothing could be done, Ben started hating the world for not caring as much as him. Harsh backlashed conversations with Gwen when she wasn't as moved towards Kevin’s fate as he was and teeth grinding to his grandpa who, all of sudden, began obeying plumber and intergalactic space laws that were abandoned long before he met Kevin. It was relief to everyone else, and a betrayal to the core. Kevin had consumed his thoughts that summer and that was when Ben shoved a photo of them together- happy, _smiling,_ and locked up his spell book under the floorboards of his basement. He crushed the plumber badge he was given as a token to his heroism. _Never again,_ a thought he had longed to instill.

He _thought._

Everyone told him to forget. Forgive and forget. His mom, furious at Max for letting her son hang out with a "delinquent" all summer. Max, apologetic, for bringing them all into this plumber business of his. Gwen, sympathetic and soon apathetic, on the outside and inside respectively. It was the type of mindless dreaming that took Ben months to get over before his grades plummeted down to the endless abyss. Whenever he tried to return to normalcy, he was reminded of the Null Void and thought, if he could, he would go to keep him company. Simple things in life wasn't so fun anymore and sumo slammers was just a stupid game. The therapist his parents hired had called what he had "temporary" and that it might be a while before he would be open to making close connections again. That summer, now, seemed like a bad dream: intangible and out of his grasp.

Until now.

Now Kevin was back stronger, taller, and he wasn't trying to kill him this time; a matured Kevin. He still looked the same; scowling, moppy-black hair, hardened eyes, but the resemblance to his eleven year old self ended there. It was then Ben realized what it was his ten year old self hadn't been prepared for when he met Kevin. It was a grave mistake to have met him. Ben realized this when they had met by chance; after winning the soccer game with a gold medal to compliment his uniform, his uniform now muddy and torn as an alien attacked the living lights out of his tired, sore body. Then, the air sucked between his teeth when exhaling was suddenly impossible before the sight of an old friend that had just saved his ass with no contempt. No reservations.

He had millenias, Verdona had told him. As an Anodite he'd live for years beyond earth's existence with power burning through his palms and eyes with violet rage. The powerlessness in his youth would be gone and left with unbinding capability. Kevin though? He was a once in a millenia and this attachment was never going to go away. He felt a searing, sharp pain in his lungs at this revelation.

So, when Kevin asked he join with him, how could he say no?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! I wrote this Summer of 2015 but I quickly reviewed it and just uploaded. Ngl... it's still one of my favorite works.


	2. Mortification in the Flesh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This begins from the first episode of Alien Force- but I’m gonna change up some things. I hope you enjoy this. It's been a while.

" _Join you?”_ Ben said, scoffing as he pulled himself up from the ground with his elbows. His soccer uniform has never been more torn and muddied, he felt a bruise forming on the small of his back from being thrown into the gravel pavement by the rogue alien. He got up from the ground and dusted off the dirt in vain before an old friend, throwing pissed-off glances every few seconds.

Ben's head felt wracked and disorienting. He wasn’t sure if he sustained a concussion or was just bewildered at a sight so rare, but he figured it was the former. His eyes shifted to focus on the alien writhing in the parking lot less than ten feet away from him. Kevin ignored Ben’s reply with the flex of his hand and approached the half-dead alien that looked like a human body turned inside out with a large, single, grotesque eye rotated vertical in the center of the head. The creature bled violet from the cranium and several blows to the chest area. There was a dark gash across the creature’s midsection that Ben had struck earlier, courtesy to his grandfather’s kitchen knife.

Ben toppled over to the nearest trash can to regurgitate the hefty breakfast he’d had that morning for the soccer game while Kevin raised the alien’s body against the fence with his fist around its throat.

“Who else is on the target list?” Kevin asked, gravely. Ben stared at him through the corner of his eye as he spilled his guts out in the trash. Kevin sounded different too, lower, deeper. Ben self-reproached himself for finding similarities between his voice to a pornstar he knew of. A fleeting thought, but horrible timing. He grit his teeth and sat down to steady himself with his racing thoughts. He slumped against the tires of the car nearest to him and tried to even his breathing all the while registering Kevin’s interrogation.

The alien tried to feign ignorance by speaking another language (resulting in a sharp punch), tried to evade questioning by claiming it didn’t know anything (Kevin pummeled him into the dirt again) but refused to beg for mercy which was, as Ben recalled, never going to end well with Kevin. Despite how sensitive and soft the top of its head seemed, the alien was stubborn and wrongfully so. After a few minutes of senseless beatings and watching satisfactory revenge play out before Ben’s eyes, Ben lifted himself off the ground with a slight limp in his walk towards Kevin and his bloody fist.

“Tell me _the fucking agenda._ Who’s next? _Tell me_ before I-” Kevin said out of breath with his nostrils inflamed. When Ben reached him, he placed a palm against Kevin’s chest gently, eyed him to let go, let the alien slump on the floor and refrain. Refrain was never part of Kevin’s usual interrogation, it was against his very nature, but he complied to let Ben have at it. Kevin reluctantly stepped back to watch passively with his arms crossed, spouting a petulant frown. Ben raised his hands that exuded violet mana, encasing the entirety of his hands as he pressed it to the head of the alien who squirmed around helplessly. Ben’s irises replaced itself with the same mana as he concentrated.

As a child, this trick was difficult. It required intense concentration (something Ben lacked even now), patience, and a stomach for tugging at chords of memory and finding which ones responded accordingly. Entering the mind of _anyone_ sent chills reverberating through Ben’s own body. It was like an exchange, it left him somewhat vulnerable too if the other knew how to navigate back. But many did not know how to possess and utilize mana to begin with, so it was relatively safe enough for him. Many times, though, it felt like an invasion of privacy, so he seldom ever used his mana and if it could be avoided, he would.

The last time he had done this, he was instructed to do so for practice by his grandmother, Verdona, in her Anodite form a couple of years ago. The problem was that they were on earth so there were not many alien test subjects to spar with, much less to invade mentally. She had insisted he do it to a stranger- _a human._ Ben recoiled from the suggestion, but she had thrown the whole- _it could mean life or death one day if you don’t learn how to do this. It’s so simple! Ben, honey-_ It was hard to argue with life or death, harder when he already had been faced with the deciding fate of earth against Vilgax.

Ben remembered the petrified look on the unlucky man that crossed his path when he froze him in mana. The stranger’s eyes had moved erratically to every peripheral corner and then focused in quiet supplication, imploring Ben to release him. Ben knew the look in his eye well. Verdona urged him to complete it just once. _Benjamin Tennyson. You are not an Anodite until you know how to do this. If you cannot bend energy to your whim because of your earthly fear, one day you will **die** because of it. And you’ll break this old soul’s heart for doing so. _

Ben ironed his heart and entered the man’s mind casting aside both his fears and moral integrity. By the time he was finished, he had known the man’s name, knew him in childhood, teens, adulthood. Knew his hopes and fears. The memory of the love and trauma (adding this to his experience). He worked as an accountant in a bank nearby, had two children, was divorced twice. Still single. Fighting for child custody. When Ben was done, he was mortified with himself. _Now wipe his memory from this._

He did.

It also marked the end of his desire to learn more about mana. Verdona’s lessons were exceedingly helpful, had him expand his horizons with his newfound powers beyond anything he’s ever known. But it also made him less human. It was one thing to use it against a rogue alien who had tried to kill him in cold flesh, it was another thing to take advantage and violate an innocent bystander and strip them of their most cherished memories. Needless to say, Verdona’s reaction to Ben’s decision was not pleasant and that was three years ago alone.

Back to the present, Ben searched through the corridors of the petrified alien’s mind with clips of memory playing on like a tape recorder. He saw an army of aliens gathering in a formation unit, spanning across miles and miles of red, foreign land. At the very front, stood a council, orders coming from a much larger _Highbreed._ The Highbreed looked like a monstrous, white, humanoid version of an insect and enlarged tenfold with black claws. There were more than one and each looked slightly different and just as menacing. Ben gulped during the procedure but continued with perseverance.

“Find anything?” He heard Kevin ask in a muffled echo.

“Shh!” Ben hissed out loud as he listened to one of the Highbreed’s speech towards the vast militia. _Ready your stations. When we return to earth, infiltrate their headquarters-_ static suppressed sound, which usually occurred if the person is close to becoming unconscious… or dead. _We will return to earth, eliminate the human filth, and replenish our kind. First- we target the plumbers on earth, destabilize the prom- prominent members, and search for the one with the omnitrix who resides on earth. Dest- De- Destroy all- the inhabitants- and- then- tsssssssssss._ Ben let go of his mana in disgust as the alien died on the ground and mind turned into static vacancy. “You killed him.” He told Kevin, who didn’t express an ounce of remorse. _Of course he didn’t._

“What did you see?” Kevin asked.

“There wasn’t enough time. No names but,” he pursed his lips. He braced his breathing and demanded it stay steady. “I think the leader of his kind are targeting plumbers and- you.”

“Thanks,” Kevin said deadpanned, “for figuring out something I knew _weeks ago. Is that all?”_ Kevin was prying for something so Ben didn’t figure that he’d be disappointed when he replied.

“They’re targeting humanity.” Kevin rolled his eyes to that and proceeded to turn the dial of the omnitrix on his wrist. Ben seethed before he could quip back and jumped back knowing the protocol too well. It was a messy fight-or-flight response. Kevin hit the dial harshly and within seconds, transformed into an alien Ben has never seen before- wrapped in vines and fire. _Swampfire._ Ben watched with sheer horror as Kevin scorched the alien corpse with the torch of his vined hand into cinders and ash with a powerful burst of flame. Unbidden, tears burst out of the corners of Ben’s eyes. The flames flickered the same way Heatblast had when Kevin had aimed at him five years ago when everything went to shit. He remembered vividly as eleven-year old Kevin blamed ten-year old Ben for turning him into a monster.

Another _why_ gone unanswered. Ben recalled Kevin fusing the omnitrix under his skin and becoming an amalgamation of all the aliens’ DNA comprised within it when Kevin’s anger got the best of him. He didn’t look human nor alien, but Ben still had faith in him. The feeling wasn’t mutual. At the time, Ben worried about Kevin living the rest of his life like that. It became a reason for him to believe the omnitrix shouldn’t be in the hands of a human, much less _a child._ It became a reason for him to resent everything otherworldly and extraterrestrial. If they had never found the omnitrix that summer, Ben’s mana would’ve stayed dormant. Kevin would still be his friend. He remembered waking up in cold sweat after dreaming some nights of Kevin’s wails of agony in the Null Void, being torn apart limb by limb from Vilgax. He was as good as dead until a half-an-hour ago, so he couldn’t help but wonder how the hell Kevin came back in one piece with the omnitrix.

It didn’t matter how. It just _is._ Ben hadn’t known he’s been holding something in for years until a sigh of relief detached itself from his core. But he still couldn’t move an inch and stood frozen until Swampfire finished the cover-up job. He felt his blood curdling and his face losing color fast. When there was nothing left of the alien but ash, Kevin returned to his human self, turned to Ben, and opened his mouth slightly as though to ask him something, but faltered and shut the metaphorical door. Wordlessly, Kevin turned on his heels away from Ben as though he were done here. Ben returned to his former composure a few seconds afterwards, looked around frantically for anyone else, and (luckily) found no one within their vicinity. Then, he stormed after Kevin.

“You can’t just transform here! It’s too public.” Ben told him.

“I don’t give a shit,” Kevin said without looking back as Ben followed him. Ben registered Kevin’s style, black-leather jacket and tee over grey sleeves and skin-tight jeans. Younger Kevin would’ve had those sleeves torn so he could color tattoos on his skin with the Crayola markers Grandpa Max gave them in the back of the trailer. But the black-leather jacket was new.

“You have to. The omnitrix is dangerous. Haven’t you learned _anything?_ Part of the Plumbers’ code is to be discreet-” To that Kevin raised a middle-finger up towards Ben and didn’t stop till he reached a sleek, green-black muscle car, presumably his, as he fished out the keys out of his leather jacket. Kevin entered the car, ignoring Ben’s verbal warnings and precautions. Even Ben silently cringed at his own tone because he sounded like one of his teachers lecturing him on the importance of safe sex and drug abuse. Kevin shut the window of his car in Ben’s face and started the engine. Affronted, Ben rushed to the front of the car planting both hands on the hood. The line between Kevin’s eyebrows and forehead deepened and he sported the deepest scowl he could muster as he rolled open his windows.

“Move Tennyson!” He yelled out, gripping the steering wheel tighter.

“Not until we talk!” Ben yelled, adrenaline pumping through his veins. He felt invincible though he were standing in front of an angry car and a guy who possessed the galaxy’s most powerful weapon. In retrospect, depending on the slim chance Kevin actually valued their past and wouldn’t take the chance to run him over was probably a fool’s hope. Probably.

“We have nothing to talk about.” Kevin shifted and revved the engine that Ben guessed was supposed to scare him away, “Move before I turn you into roadkill.” Ben was unimpressed and stood his ground.

“In case you forgot, you asked _me_ to join you earlier. You know. Before you killed that alien. Did you not?” Kevin’s eye squinted in foul recognition.

“That was before.” Kevin said grimly, glaring daggers at Ben.

“Before what?” Kevin didn’t answer. Instead, he groaned and turned the keys to park the car. He got out and slammed the door shut. When he approached Ben, Ben stood stiff, taking in the several inches Kevin hovered over him and how broad his chest was. But he pushed that thought away like swatting a fly.

“I retract my offer,” Kevin told him. “It was a mistake.”

“I don’t think so.” Unlike Kevin, Ben believed that mistakes, accidents, coincidences were all part of a larger master plan. Nothing was ever a coincidence. Not since the day they discovered the omnitrix. Not since Ben learned of his alien heritage and tried hard as hell to hide it. In vain. Clearly. But whether it was good judgement was arguable.

“Then, talk.” Kevin demanded, crossing his arms, leaning back against the hood with scrutinizing, dark eyes.

“First, I need to confirm a few suspicions I’ve been having...” Ben mentioned as Kevin raised an eyebrow at him, “What led you to me? Why are you _here?_ ” Ben would be flat-out lying if he admitted he hoped by the margin of all things universal, that Kevin was here for him and him only. But he had to remind himself that Kevin hates him and probably cursed his name for years before the minuscule chance that he’d forgiven him for leaving him to rot. Above all, he was still reeling in shock with the fact that they spoke with civility and not with their fists.

“I got a tip from his friend,” Kevin said gesturing to the smoke and black ash smeared across the gravel ground the alien once was on, half-alive. Ben deflated, even knowing any other explanation would’ve been slim to none.  “You should’ve stayed out of my way.” And there it was. That verbal, caustic tone that seeped through fraud geniality. Staying out of his way would’ve ended with the same result.

 _"You killed him,”_ Ben repeated, his head thrummed. The light hit harsh and he saw two Kevins before focusing on the one. He shut his eyes tight for two seconds.

“Saving you. _You’re welcome.”_ The alien attacked him in Grandpa Max’s old trailer, after winning the soccer match.

“I don’t understand. I-” Still, soon everything dawned on him like a weight on his chest.

“They’re targeting plumbers.” Ben pinched the bridge of his chest as he felt the beginnings of a headache sweep over like a storm.

“Old news, Tennyson.”

“Grandpa has been missing for two weeks.” He explained, clenching his teeth. The rest of the family passed it off as an unannounced vacation with his wife, so Ben didn’t question further. He didn’t want to see Verdona again. But they haven’t been keeping tabs on him. Ben heard Kevin face fall out of a scowl, a tinge more sympathetic as he whispered _‘shit’_ under his breath. “That trailer the alien attacked me in. I _knew_ he wouldn’t have left without it. And I still don’t know how to contact grandma when she’s out of earth’s range. I- _fuck-”_ Ben’s head ached, localized to the side he impacted on when the alien flung him out of the trailer. When he touched his hand towards his head, through his brown hair, his fingers came back bloody and head tender.

Ben laughed hollowly. Of course. The second he gets dragged back into alien business, he gets injured again. _Of course._ Kevin acted fast.

“Come on. I’ll drive you to the hospital.” He headed towards the car and sat but Ben stood in utter disbelief. This geniality sham was placing his hopes in the wrong place. On the off-chance, Kevin’s maturity was valid, it put Ben to shame and for some reason, he felt weaker, light-headed. Maybe it was the impact. He couldn’t understand how Kevin would offer this when last time they met, ended with an all-out war and death of their friendship for bitter resentment. _He was stuck in the Null Void because of you,_ Ben reminded himself.

Kevin looked up to find Ben standing statue-still and he gestured wildly. “The fuck, Tennyson? Get in the car already before you pass out and vomit up blood on my car.” Maybe Kevin was just as appalled. The pain throbbed, so Ben decided to ask those questions later. He entered the car’s shotgun feeling like foreigner on the leather-covered seats and Kevin shoved a plastic, grocery bag at his face. “Not. One. Speck.” He enunciated to him in hush solemnity. Ben nodded sickly and accepted the bag, grimacing while Kevin started the car again.

“You reek of vomit.” Kevin scrunched his nose acridly, before he pressed on the gas.

“I know.” Ben said miserably, migraine meeting his stomach with violent electricity.

He hurled again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, guys, I wrote this fic 3 years ago and one comment notification made me write more. So like, know your power. (Also please let me know if there are any discrepancies).


	3. Anodite Nostalgia

The hospital room was bustling as Ben held a soft ice-pack to his head for hours in pediatric room. A part of him believed coming here worsened his headache, surrounded by screaming children, fast-acting physicians and nurses, endless phone rings, and the essence of anxiety hanging all over the walls like a dreadful miasma. He felt out of place in the small, pink chair he sat on and looked to the ground in quiet contemplation, leaning his elbow on the armrest with a bored pout. The wait took hours and Ben felt himself drifting off into a dream world soon. Honestly, he could use a snooze for a bit. But he forced himself to keep awake with red-rimmed eyes or else risk the possibility of accidentally leaning onto Kevin’s shoulder in lieu of a pillow asleep.

He swallowed the nausea down and dealt with it. Kevin sat in the small, floral, green chair beside him, sulkingly silent, with his eyes shut vexed. It was there, Ben noticed Kevin’s arms covered in tattoos of quotes in gothic font, flames, skulls, red lipstick, knives, and every other intimidating object under the sun. Ben noticed a sharp, black line reach up to Kevin’s clavicles and that was where it ended. Ben tried to imagine how much skin underneath his tee was covered in ink. In another time, the event would’ve been hilarious for Ben, seeing Kevin sulk surrounded by children’s toys in a rainbow room amid crying toddlers. But his migraine wouldn’t let him enjoy it, that and the fact that Ben wasn’t entirely sure if they were on speaking terms either.

Kevin probably hated the clamor more than Ben did. Earlier in the evening, Kevin resorted to blocking out the noise with earbuds and Ben could hear the murmur of loud rock music bursting out the buds. He rolled his eyes. _Same Kevin, same taste in music._ He remembered a time when they were in Grandpa Max’s trailer alone, lying down on the makeshift bed made for him for the summer. Kevin stole an ipod from an unsuspecting tourist in Los Angeles, hacked the key code, and deleted all the disco and pop music on it. It made him gag and he said he could never like someone who listened to pop. Ben recalled spending three hours listening to the Kevin’s new playlist when he asked him to. Loud. Metal. Rock. Made his ears pop but didn’t deter Ben from playing the next song. _If we stay in LA for another week, we can sneak into a Breaking Benjamin concert._

_How?_

_I have my ways._

Ben loathed remembering certain things so well. Memories he buried under the pretense that Kevin was gone came back like a lightning strike and reverberated through his bones. He wished he could ignore it all and pretend like he was elsewhere. He blamed it on Verdona too. Anodite’s naturally had long life-spans so memories don’t fade as easily as they do for humans. They stay vivid for a couple decades, maybe even a century or two. On the bright side, they skipped the awkward small-talk Ben had been dreading since the drive. An hour or two passed by before the nurse called his name.

Ben was relieved to stand and get out of room. He marched out the waiting room into a patient room looking back as Kevin stayed put. The nurse had told them that only family members could be inside the room with the patient and that his mom was already contacted. Ben sat on top of the white-sheeted hospital bed as the paper crinkled beneath him. The nurse performed a series of evaluation tests and checking Ben’s vitals all the while, asking a couple of questions pertaining to the injury and Ben had to lie his ass off soccer injury, but she pursed her lips disbelieving and proceeded to speak to him in a tone that only adults would use on children. After answering all the questions, the nurse directed Ben to a room where they would be taking a scan. Afterwards, she gave him a strong painkiller which worked within a half an hour.

By the end of five o’clock, a blonde, old woman with a stern look and stray hairs flying about entered the room, flushed and worried. “Benjamin Kirby Tennyson!” She nearly wept. “How in god’s name did you end up here? I couldn’t get off work fast enough or check voicemail until now.. Honey- you worried me half to death. How did you get hurt?” She cupped her son’s face gingerly and wore a soft expression once in a full moon. Ben smiled shyly.

“Soccer game. I fell near the end of the last quarter and hit my head hard. Um- I didn’t think it was serious until a half hour later.” He lied, so easily too. It was harder to lie when he was ten and came home with countless bruises and scrapes from alien fighting.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to the big game today. I saw your text though. Congratulations.” She patted his hair, “Fortunately, the doctor tells me it’s not serious. Oh thank God, but no more practice for at least two to three weeks, he suggested,” she began recited what the doctor had told him not even ten minutes ago. Ben sighed in relief. He vaguely listened to his mom talk and talk and talk. Until she waited expectantly at him and there was an awkward silence.

“Uh- wait. What?”

“I asked how did you get here? The nurse said it wasn’t by ambulance.”

“Oh,” he scratched his head, feeling sour. “A friend drove me.”

“Ah. Who?” She asked, but Ben could already hear the storming tirade about what a bad influence Kevin was and how Ben shouldn’t involve himself in a crowd with guys like him. It would last an hour or more. She would lecture about drugs, alcohol, law enforcement… probably gangs too. She was dramatic like that, but Kevin’s current look wasn’t really helping his case anyways. It would turn into an interrogation, bringing past disapproval alive from the grave. Ben would prefer it stay under though.

“Nathan. He’s on the team.” Half-lie. He did have a team player named Nathan. It was believable enough.

“I’ve never heard of him before.”

“Yeah, we weren’t close before actually. But he noticed how much I was hurting and offered a ride.” Ben scrambled for an explanation, then added for a pinch of realism, “He’s the blonde guy with a killer kick on the team?” Instantly, his mother’s face lit up.

“Ah! Him! Oh, he seems like a nice boy. Invite him sometime this week for dinner so you can thank him properly.”

“Mom,” Ben said deadpanned. “That’s lame. I said thanks.”

“No, no. This could’ve been an emergency and a simple _‘thanks’_ isn’t enough. We’ll have a barbecue. Here- look. I have a doctor’s note you can hand the coach to tomorrow at practice so you can rest for a few weeks. Ask Nathan then.”

“But mom, I-”

“Benjamin.” She gave him the look. “Where are your manners? You look as if I asked you to cook and set up everything, which is what _I’ll_ probably end up doing while you play video games in your room. This is only polite. He didn’t have to drive you and I am grateful someone did. _This_ is a proper thank you.” She said urgently. Ben’s patience and improv lies wore him thin.

“Okay- fine. I’ll ask him” He said, sounding defeated. But his mom wore a triumphant smile, satisfied and told him to make sure to ask him what his favorite foods were. As they were discharged from the hospital, Ben walked over the corner to check the pediatric room- still filled to the brim with crying children but void of Kevin. He must’ve left which brought great relief and subsequent disappointment to Ben. On one hand, his lie wouldn’t be found out by his mother. He dodged a bullet. On the other hand, that might’ve been the last time they’d ever see each other.

Maybe it was for the best. Betrayal ate his mind bit by bit and told him to go back to his former, _safer_ impassivity towards the extraterrestrial lifestyle. So what if that was the last time they’d see one another? It’s been five years. He was doing just _fine_ without Kevin. Next fall, he’ll be a senior and on his way to graduating high school. He would be applying to UCLA, majoring in astronomy, and forget about that summer again.

…But he had so many unanswered questions.

When he went to the car, he buckled up his seat and leaned back tired and exhausted, staring out the window to the sky with clusters of stars as his mom drove. He took out his phone, he scrolled through his phone book and opened his messages with Gwen. _The last time we spoke was nearly half a year ago for directions to the Thanksgiving dinner._ He scrunched his eyes shut and thought about texting her, mulling over how much grief she’d give him and stir old feelings up again. He felt ill about it. Tight-lipped, he exited and turned his phone off. _Just go to sleep for now. Think about it in the morning._ The streetlights shifted from shading Ben’s eyes between light and darkness, on and off, like a pendulum.

 

xxx.

 

Ben woke up later than usual, dreamless sleep, which he was glad for. Nothing to interpret. When he spent the summer fighting aliens, nightmares plagued his sleep in solemn condemnation for his inaction. His blood curdled at the uncalled for haunting- for months. He thought he was cursed. The smell of eggs and sausage on the pan, sizzling roamed the halls all the way to his room. Ben raised himself from his mattress in reluctance and stretched as he headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth and shower. After he was done, he dressed in normal attire and went down the stairs to the kitchen to his mother eating breakfast and watching the news on television. News anchor on the weather forecast.

“Good morning Ben,” she chimed. “Your breakfast is on the pan. Just put it on a plate. Then, we’ll drive to practice.” Before she exited the kitchen, she reminded him to dread the day, “And remember to invite Nathan for dinner. Anyday. Except this weekend because I have to travel for work, and-” Ben groaned. Summer was supposed to mean relaxation and video games and not awkward small talk with classmates who want nothing to do with you. The whole point was to avoid that. An hour later, Ben found himself giving the coach the doctor’s note and explaining the dilemma to a disappointed face and a parental nod and a _“take care.”_ He strongly patted Ben on the back. In a small attempt to save face, Ben approached the car, only to see his mom flail her arms away, indicating that he should turn around and ask Nathan. She was in perfect view of the the whole encounter from the parking lot.

Ben turned around slowly and scanned the field to find Nathan in his black and white soccer uniform, sweating it out on the bench, gulping down his water bottle in sixty seconds. Ben rolled his eyes and approached him. _I’ll just talk to him for a bit and tell mom he said he was busy. She doesn’t need to know._ Proud of his surefire plan he stood before Nathan as he glanced up at Ben in a quizzical expression. He had his hair pushed back slick and wet, and brown eyes peering at both Ben and someone behind him, shifting to and to.

“Hey dude. I know we don’t talk often but I’m going to be out of action for a week or two on doctor’s orders and I was wondering if you could keep me updated on practice.” It was a weird request alone but it gave the appearance of conversation to his mother, who spoke out from behind his back.

“Hello Nathan. I’m Ben’s mother. I wanted to say thank you for driving my son to the hospital yesterday. Ben was a bit shy to say so I’m doing it in his place.”

“Mom-” Ben hissed. She waved him off. _When did she cross the field?_

“To thank you, we wanted to invite you to dinner sometime this week. Barbecue? Unless you’d prefer something else.” She smiled but Nathan looked dumbfounded with his jaw slack as he looked from Ben’s mother to Ben and Ben pinched his eyes shut, waiting for the horrible truth. _Shit._ His mother would never let him live this down.

“Sure.” Nathan said to Ben’s surprise. “Barbecue is good. Will there be hotdogs?” Ben’s mother beamed and Ben grimaced.

“Yes! What day is good for you? Tomorrow? Wednesday?”

“Wednesday is good,” Nathan smiled but Ben saw through it. _Why was he playing along_? “Ben will text me the deets. Give me your number.” Startled, Ben took out his phone clumsily and opened up a new contact in his phone as Nathan handed him his. When Ben and Nathan were done putting in their digits in each other’s phones, Ben’s mom nudged him by the shoulder.

“Oh. Thanks, by the way. For the ride.”

“No biggie,” he had a shit-eating grin on now. “I’m glad to see you’re feeling better now dude. Text me later.”

“Y-yeah. Sure. See you.” Ben and his mom said their goodbyes and left across the field to their car. Before the engine could start, he received his first text from Nathan.

 

  * __Yo liar. u owe me 1 :)__



 

“Mom, why did you come?” He hated how he sounded: like a whiny brat.

“Because I saw you roll your eyes. You think I don’t know my son?”

 

xxx.

 

Back at home, Ben sunk back into bed with a bag of doritos and played Kingdom Hearts Remixed- a game  he played a long time ago. He texted his address reluctantly to Nathan and binge-watched a couple of episodes on Netflix. By the time he was done with the season, he found himself confronted with colossal boredom. Everything mundane and peaceful and human was stagnant. Boring. Only this time, he felt the suffocating pressure of it weigh on him like a stubborn boulder, begging for some purpose. He raised his hand to the ceiling and forced out a plate of mana- energy suckling around his hand like a wormhole. Warm and vibrant and his. Celestial, new, and also _his._ He was fond of his grasp on the power even though it would’ve been fourth grade for a full-blooded Anodite. Then he remembered his grandmother and the purple light dulled and dissipated into nothingness.

Because of her, Ben never stopped feeling paranoid. Even at the moment, he felt like he was being watched and stalked. Yesterday he was attacked by an alien. Yesterday he found out that Kevin was alive and kicking. Yesterday he found out that Grandpa Max might be in deep trouble. Ben bit his lip, furious about wasting the day on junk food and dumb games. He picked up his phone- thought about calling Gwen. So, he dialed her number and waited for a few rings before it left him on voicemail.

He needed to get into contact with a Plumber. Anyone to ask for his grandpa’s status. He needed to do _something._ Unfortunately, his grandpa left a dry, dead-end trail regarding his former career so that no one could track down his family. Good intentions, bad timing. Desperate, Ben dug around the room, searching through drawers and the tops of closets until he found a remnant of his Grandpa- the ugly-red Hawaiian, tourist print shirt he had left at his house one day and forgot to ask for it again. He had a closet filled with the same shirt which Gwen suspected was once part of a huge sale for a closing store in Hawaii.

Ben grabbed the shirt, sat on the edge of his bed, and closed his eyes in concentration. He let the cloth go and let it levitate in the air, surrounded by mana circling around the shirt in a trance. There, Ben searched for pathways. Roads that led to the owner with dead end after dead end. Frustrated, he tried to remember his grandfather’s image in the past. Memory served well when tracking through mana. But he hadn’t seen his grandfather in almost a month and the image turns hazy if the memory is not recent. He opened his eyes in defeat and glanced at the photograph of Max, Gwen, and himself five years ago, huddled in a family hug. But the photo was five years old and the pathways were blocked. Some led to multiple roads, led out like tree branches. His throat grew taut at his failure at a task that _should’ve_ been easy. He could envision his grandmother shaking her head in profound disapproval.

Rage boiled up at his insides and let themself out in another fit of searching his room for another item. He looked corner to corner, under the bed, inside his drawers again, on his desk, until he came to his bookshelf of video games in their plastic-cased homes. He pulled each and every one out for the random strips of paper he wedged inbetween the cases for safe-keeping. School cheat sheets, post-its with reminders, old flyers. He looked at his myriad of video games as nostalgic waves swam over his head. He smiled, laughed a bit at some titles, and then frowned when he came across an old Sumo Slammers game. Ben gulped, remembering exactly how he got it- stolen from the back of a warehouse after trespassing, given to him by Kevin. He glowered at the fact that he saw Kevin, practically studied him, yesterday. He threw the game into the pile of rejected, old, games.

And he reached for it again. It was perfect tracking material. _But he’s not a plumber. He’s not Max._ Ben tried to reason in any event that didn’t end up like _this._ Mortified by the thought that his grandpa might be in trouble, he sucked it up with regret stuck wallowing in his chest. He gripped the video game packet and concentrated his energy around it as it slowly levitated from his palm with grace. Pressure built up inside his chest, pressing up and pushing more. Ben could feel his adrenaline rushing, his heart beating faster as he compelled himself to remember Kevin from the day prior. An image appeared, him with his shaggy-long black hair, hardened raven eyes with dark circles beneath, intricate tattoos spreading across both his arms like sleeves, blue jeans, a sleeveless, black tee and leather boots with metal studs, chains around his neck, snakebites on his lower lip, and of course- the omnitrix with a sleeker black and silver band around his right wrist.

Ben loathed the perfect image he conjured up. He could blame it on intelligence, photographic memory, but Ben knew better than to lie without purpose. Instantly, his mind shifted into pathways from the old video game, which seemed silly but worked. The corner of Ben’s lips perked upwards in amusement. Verdona once told him that items that were centuries old could be tracked down to the last bone of their owner. He was glad he could manage at least five years… or yesterday- whichever. The pathways faded one by one until one stood a rigid and unfaltering violet, When Ben opened his eyes, the mana dropped onto the floor in a line leading out the door towards Kevin’s whereabouts. The mana trail was only visible to its user so he considered this a minor success. He hurriedly grabbed his green jacket and the video game and ran downstairs to put on his shoes.

“Ben, where are you going?” He heard his mom ask from behind. The sound of her tv drama on was enough to fill the vacant anxiety that harbored his body. He shouldn’t be lying so much.

“Going out for a walk.” He tried, knowing how bad it sounded.

“This late at night? Ben, it’s ten o’clock and pitch-black outside.” She gave him a quizzical look.

“C’mon. _Mom._ I’ll be fine.” _I have to find Kevin and then find Grandpa Max._

 _“No.”_ She said in the same tone. “You are not going out.” She said with a finality that Ben couldn’t argue with no longer. His shoulders sunk low and his eyes shifted downcast as he walked up the stairs to his room. His mother returned back into the living room where his father took refuge on the large loveseat couch, checking his emails with his glasses on. Halfway into the staircase, Ben paused.

“Dad.”

“Yes?”

“Have you heard from Grandpa Max lately? Did he answer any of our calls?” Ben heard his father shift uncomfortably on the couch.

“No. Not yet. There’s probably no cell service over there. The entire spa prides itself on its tribute to the natural and relaxation. Cell phones aren’t allowed.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure we’ll hear back from him soon.” His father quipped without casting another glance at his son. Ben didn’t reply, lowered his eyes, and walked up the stairs to his room. He closed the door shut. The mana line he summoned still laid there, taunting him in all its glory. But as he faced away from his shut door, the line shifted out the open window where the curtains danced with a cool air draft. Ben pursed his lips in hesitancy, locked his door, and put on his pop music on a low volume setting. And the next thing he knew, he was out the window too in his bedroom slippers, jacket, and the accursed Sumo Slammers video game from 2005.

 

xxx.

 

Ben didn’t take account of his stamina for two years. For two years he ended training with Verdona and wiped the slate clean of the existence of aliens. So, when he walked through the night on mana steps, he found himself quickly exhausted and low on fuel. The mana path he created seemed to lead on forever and soon he began to question if he really even mastered the technique to begin with. He had crossed Bellwood, exited Bellwood onto an eerily, vacant highway far up North. The night was closing in on midnight and it was only then Ben worried about finding his way back. He was terrible with directions and it was horror-movie dark. But he hammered on until the mana became thinner and weaker like wispy threads- pointing towards an empty, isolated gas station on the side of the road with a single street light flickering on and off. The red neon sign that read OPEN was broken too with the ‘E’ dimmed and the ‘N’ dying off.

There was a convenience store and a garage beside the fueling stations and Ben spotted Kevin’s car parked in the driveway unaccompanied. He silently cheered his success in tracking down five-year old stolen goods and quietly landed on the gravel floor and let his mana have a rest for a while. He felt the rugged gravel over the soles of his bunny slippers, which in retrospect, Ben gravely regretted leaving with. He heard murmurs of a conversation from the dead-end garage and approached it slowly and cautiously. He recognized Kevin’s voice but not the other.

Ben crept closer to the garage and then used mana to propel himself softly to the ledge near the ceiling in the corner. There, he could see Kevin far off amidst boxes and broken down vehicles and tools. It was dark except for the few lightbulbs that lit up a convenient spotlight on them, and across from Kevin was a Forever Knight. Ben deduced from the relatively amiable posture and calm gestures that they were making a deal. Ever the negotiator, Kevin was, but Ben expected as much. If the omnitrix couldn’t give him an ounce of a sense for self-preservation, nothing would. He was still risking his neck with selling and buying alien technology like they were unreleased video games and consoles. Ben edged closer to hear them better. He saw Kevin inspecting the weaponry and rifles tagged with the familiar green outline on the table out from the Forever Knight’s suitcase.

“I was promised level five tech.” Kevin said, grimacing. “This is level four.” The Forever Knight began a tirade in a different ancient language Ben couldn’t decipher, but Kevin seemed to. Ben wondered how long it took for him to grasp it. “No,” Ben perked up at hearing Kevin’s response. “I’m not paying you for amateur copies.”

 _You have the omnitrix. Why do you have to buy illegal tech?_ Ben still thought Kevin was an idiot. An idiot who loved money and knew how to work underground illicitly. He crept closer as the knight kept blabbering on in a higher pitch, which meant fear. Kevin’s hand hovered over the omnitrix with a threatening demeanor. _Of course,_ Ben thought. The knight held its hands up- a plea, but Kevin’s palm slammed the omnitrix nevertheless in a burst of green light. Ben couldn’t catch what alien Kevin would turn into but when a navy-blue, bug humanoid spread out its wings and antennae with an icy-breath breathing down the knight's face, Ben couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pity for the poor sap who had to deal with Kevin alone.

 _“Tell me where you’re duplicating this fakes or else I’ll freeze your brains out, prick.”_ Kevin hissed. It was harsh on the ear but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the knight shook before hitting an alarm on the suitcase, letting out the loudest screech Ben’s ears had to endure. Kevin let out icy and mist and froze the knight and the suitcase into a still-life ice statue. Only then did the sound dim shut and an eerie quiet roamed the garage. A few seconds afterwards, a buzz could be heard in a distance and a minute later, the sound turned into a herd of metal and armor clashing together in a run. Turning around, Ben saw dozens of the same armored knights rushing towards the garage with war cries and blasters in hand.

 _“Fuck,”_ Ben heard Kevin say under his breath as he flew over to the opposing army making the ground vibrate as they ran closer to them. Before Ben could react, Kevin started. With a swift move, Kevin let out his pent-up anger in the form of punching and roundhouse kick the first row of knights. The more they piled on, the stronger Kevin seemed to get. Some were smart enough to start running in retreat onto the pick-up trucks nearby and flee with success. After a while, Kevin flew above them and froze the rest of the legendary hoard over in an icy glacier. The air around them all turned cold and Ben wished he brought his winter coat this summer night. Kevin left all but one in ice. He kept the lone knight half-frozen from the chest down, his head kept squirming in the hold.

“I want to know where you’re duplicating these weapons,” Kevin said cooly. “I’ll let you live if you confess. If not, well, I know your men won’t last long in this climate.” Ben could hear the smirk grow.

 _“I don’t know.”_ The knight replied in a thick, European accent but that earned ice rising up to its neck, to which he began spitting out drivel but was most-likely curses in their language. _“Okay! Okay!”_ The knight panicked, _“There’s a warehouse!”_ When Kevin asked where, the knight blurted out the address and surrounding area to the best of his knowledge of roads and maps. Kevin nodded knowing where exactly.

“One more question. Where is Max Tennyson?” Kevin asked. Ben gulped, leaning forward. The name sounded odd, almost foreign out of the alien form Kevin took over. When the Forever knight claimed ignorance, the ice inched upward his neck in spikes; he swore on some higher power and screamed when the ice grew over his head in stalks until it completely encapsulated the knight in frost in shock. Moments passed and it didn’t seem like Kevin was going to release them… at all.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Ben said, walking towards Kevin cautiously. His voice betrayed  him and cracked a little. “Let them go.” Kevin recoiled a foot back.

“What are you doing here? _How did you find me_?” Kevin asked, edging over to sounding menacing.

“You asked for Grandpa. Why? Do you know something?” Ben asked, earnestly. He ignored the latter question Kevin asked. “After seeing what that alien saw, I can’t just sit down and do nothing.” Kevin broke out a cruel laugh.

“Still playing hero, Tennyson? Not even when you get bashed and hit your head?”

“Yeah. And I still see that you’re still playing criminal. Why the fuck would you need more weaponry? _The omnitrix is on your wrist!”_ Kevin swooped in closer til they were only inches apart, til Ben could stare into Kevin’s now large, green, reflective bug eyes and he saw dozens of himself within them. With Kevin’s alien wings spread out wide and moving gusts. This was a common fear tactic and Ben had already decided not to yield. He did it once with Stinkfly.

“Leave.” Kevin demanded. The cold air he breathed chilled Ben’s skin to goosebumps and patches of frost down his neck.

“Tell me where Grandpa is.” Ben grit his teeth against the cold and gripped the CD casing of Sumo Slammers tighter. The plastic cracked a little and Kevin glanced down at it for a while too long.

 _“Leave before I decide I like you better as a popsicle_.” Kevin said and though it was threatening, Ben bore his glare into him.

“ _Really?_ Really, Kevin?” Ben replied, deadpanned. Kevin sighed heavily, closed his eyes shut, and pressed his claw onto the emblem in his chest. In a flash of green, he returned to his human form with all the punk rock embedded in it. “You can threaten me all you want but it’ll never end with me running away like those Forever knights did.”

“Maybe you should. How do you know I still don’t want revenge?” Kevin retracted, walking past Ben back into the garage to search for something. Ben’s shoulders sunk in relief at the sight of a human Kevin. Some of his nightmares included being killed by a non-human Kevin.

“Because you would’ve finished the job by now.” _And saved me. Again and again._ He didn’t say. Kevin dug through a suitcase Ben hadn’t noticed he had brought until he pulled out a circular disk with a green hourglass imprinted on. A Plumber’s badge.

“Can you track this too?” Kevin said, throwing the badge towards Ben who caught it clumsily with Sumo Slammer’s still in hand. “It’s Max’s. If you can find me with that game, then you probably can with this too.”

“You’re perceptive. Where did you get this?”

“What did you think I was doing near the trailer?”

“Point taken.” Ben inspected the badge, turning it over. It was much more personal and intimate than a red shirt he had forgotten. Mana was gleaming off of the badge in rounds but tracking didn’t always lead to a destination. “I think I can.” He tried concentrating but was met with the same fate earlier. The badge was as useless as the red Hawaiian shirt. “It gives me like twenty different pathways. I can’t.”  Ben could feel his headache returning and he pinched the bridge of his nose with his eyes shut.

“Why don’t we just follow one of them then?” Kevin said and it took a while for Ben to register that he said _we._

“It might lead to a dead end.”

“Then, we’ll try another one.” Kevin packed up his stuff and strolled towards his car to shove it in the trunk. Ben blinked a couple times. “Let’s go now.”

“W-wait, wait. Hold up. I can’t.” Ben raised his hands in protest.

“Why not?”

“I have to go home. My mom will kill me.” Ben said and Kevin leered at him before he started snickering louder. “Seriously…” Ben’s voice died out in embarrassment. He was partially glad for the excuse because he wouldn’t know what to say or think about this.

“Fine. Tomorrow afternoon. I’ll come by.” Kevin shut the trunk of his car and went around to the driver’s seat.

“Wait. Uh-”

“What _now_?”

“I need a ride home.” Ben said sheepishly, smiling weakly. “I walked here.” Ben could feel Kevin rolling his eyes as he clicked the button to open up the door. Ben walked over to open the door and sat inside as Kevin started the engine. “You should also thaw those knights.” He remembered.

“Don’t worry. The ice I used thaws in fifteen minutes. It’s a thin layer. They’ll be fine.” Kevin said, rolling his eyes. _Well, at least he has some mercy,_ Ben thought.

“Thanks,” Ben said as strapped in his seat belt.

“It’s gonna be a long ride.”

“You can tell what you’ve been upto these past years then.” Kevin sighed loudly to that so Ben added, “And everything you know about Grandpa and the Highbreed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Sorry for the late update;;; I actually had this done a month ago but was rly lazy to edit;;; Thank you for the kind reviews! They reminded me to actually edit haha. Let me know if there's any discrepancies. I’ll make sure something wild happens in the next chapter for your patience. :D Also constructional criticism is welcome if you ask on my tumblr which is in my profile.


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